


It Takes a Village

by flightinflame



Series: The Light That in Us Burns [9]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Babysitting, Birth, Care of Magical Creatures, Creature POV, Gen, M/M, Mpreg, Post Mpreg, Protective creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-09-30 00:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10148345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Help is always appreciated when you have a young family.  Luckily(?) for Newt, Percival and Credence there are a herd of creatures in Newt's case eager to assist however they can.





	1. Pickett

**Author's Note:**

> This contains spoilers for "This Supreme Mystery of Love" that Lourdesdeath is currently writing so wonderfully. In addition this chapter contains a bowtruckle's view of birth happening. It's not graphic, but if that might bother you feel free to skip to chapter two (which will be up hopefully soon)

Today is the worst day of Pickett’s life. It is worse than the day he got sold to a goblin, or the day Newt got bitten by a nundu cub, or the day that a dragon had tried to attack them. It is even worse than the day nasty men had tried to take Newt and Credence prisoner when they were hiding by the lakes. Pickett paused for a moment, considering how many of his worst moments revolved around the silly human that he had in place of a tree. 

Another scream split the air, and Pickett focused. He climbed the bed post. If Newt had been chained down, he could have freed him, but the people in funny clothes hadn’t imprisoned him. He wasn’t sure if it was magic being used, or something else. Credence was stood beside Newt, his face pale, one hand gripping Newt’s. Percival was standing by the door, and every few minutes would slip outside. Pickett could hear a thumping then. He was fairly sure that was Percival punching the wall. Because he was worried for Newt.

The people in funny clothes were just watching, occasionally brushing Newt’s forehead with a cloth. They didn’t seem worried. They weren’t helping Newt, and that meant they were bad. One of the people leaned in towards Newt, hands resting on his thighs. Pickett chittered angrily. Newt wasn’t theirs to touch. They were hurting his human.

He knew that Newt was going to come home from this place with a small human seedling, the same as Credence had done a few weeks before. He hadn’t been allowed to accompany Credence, and part of him was worried at what had happened. The rest of him though was focussed on what was happening now. But he had seen Newt help creatures in the past, seen him guide Lizzie the graphorn through both of her births. None of the creatures Newt had helped had been in this much pain.

Newt screamed again, and Pickett knew he had to act. He launched forwards, snapping and waving his long fingers, aiming at the eyes of the person who was closest to Newt. They stumbled away, screaming in shock as he tore at their face, scratching viciously. He wanted to make them stop. Pickett knew he was fragile, that a human hand could snap him in half in a moment. But protecting Newt and his seedling was worth the risk.

He yelped as a hand pulled him away, and looked up to see Percival looking down at him. Percival shook his head firmly.  
“No. Pickett, you can’t attack the doctor…” He started to move towards the door, and Pickett squeaked as loud as he could. His hands reached out towards the bed.

Percival looked at him for a moment, and then placed him down on a shelf. He went to run towards Newt, but a glass was placed over him before he could escape. It was heavy and he was completely trapped, watching the people with strange clothes leaning in towards Newt. He couldn’t see the detail of what they were doing, but he was very frightened. Newt’s screams were getting closer and if he had been free he would have blinded every person who was hurting Newt. All he could do was watch. He tried to throw himself into the glass to escape, but it was too heavy for him to move.

Pickett whimpered, helpless as Newt screamed and panted, Credence gripping his hands tightly as Percival stood nearby. Eventually, a human seedling was brought into the world, blinking and crying out. Pickett thought that would be it, but the strange people continued. Pickett was unable to watch, focussing instead of watching the seedling cradled to Percival’s chest. Percival was looking down at it with fondness, and that eased a little of Pickett’s fear until there was another cry from Newt.

The people in strange clothes were fussing over him and eventually they pulled away with a second seedling held in their arms. Both seedlings were placed in Newt’s arms, and Percival stood beside him, blinking back tears. Credence walked over and freed Pickett from his glass prison, carrying him over to his human and his family.


	2. The Niffler

The niffler which Newt had named Nick was worried by the absence of the three humans he spent most of his time with. The lady who had yelled at him when they had first met was there, and so was the lady who wore so many pretty shiny things, but Newt and Graves and the ball of smoke that was now a man were missing.

Normally, the niffler didn't worry. If Newt was out of the house, that would give him the perfect opportunity to steal some treasures without having to worry about Newt taking them back. But the niffler thought he knew where Newt had gone, and it was a worrying thought. 

The last time all three of them had disappeared, Credence had gone to something called a "hospital", which was clearly like a secondary burrow for birthing. And something had gone wrong. While niffler had been one of a litter of three, and every niffler he knew had been from a litter of between six and two, Credence had only brought home one strange human puggle.

The puggle was sad and weak and helpless. It only had the tiniest covering of fur on the top of its head, and it didn't seem able to talk to Credence. It was quite big for a puggle - the niffler supposed that was because humans were big. It was nearly as tall as the niffler was. But Credence was clearly trying to be a good mother, wrapping the baby in blankets and singing to it softly. Niffler understood. He would look after Newt even though Newt was very strange, so of course Credence and the others loved their strange puggle.

But loving someone, even your own puggle, wasn't the same thing as knowing how to look after them. Credence would keep the puggle warm, and cuddle it to his body, and feed it. Those were all good things. But he didn't seem to understand that the puggle would need shinies. Shinies were important for puggles. They helped keep them warm and cosy and meant they would grow big and strong. For a strange helpless puggle like Credence's, it was even more important that they got a lot of shinies. But Credence had not been looked after by someone who was good when he was a puggle himself, and that meant he didn't know how to look after a puggle now.

The niffler tried to help. To start with he just put a few small shiny coins in the box beside the puggle. But Credence hadn't understood, had told him off. The niffer didn't mind that though, because he knew that Credence must be very worried trying to look after his puggle. If Credence didn't like the coins, the niffler would find something that would be good for the puggle, a big shiny that would stay in the box with it and help it to get bigger.

With a purpose in mind, the niffler had looked through the hoard, and tried different things. Neck shinies and finger shinies were a no, and so were table shinies. Door shinies were okay, but then Newt had yelled because apparently he needed them. The niffler had still been working on that mission when Newt and the others had left them. He went back to his hoard, digging deep into the very heart where he stored all of his favourite treasures, and found the big shiny that Graves had given him. It was like a wrist-shiny but it didn't have the band around. It was the kind that made a ticking noise. He picked up the not-quite-a-wrist-shiny and carried it to the puggle box, dropping it beside the puggle.

Satisfied that the first puggle was okay, he went to look for things that he could give to Newt's puggles when they returned. He hoped that Newt would come home with puggles, not just one. Newt was healthier than Credence, and he was strong. The niffler hoped that would mean that the puggles would all be safe.

He slept in his hoard, waiting for Newt's return.

Newt did return, and he brought with him two puggles. He lay them side by side in a big box, and looked down at them with the same love that he showed when he looked at any babies in the case. The niffler watched, waiting. He was hoping that Newt would know to give the puggles shinies, but if Newt didn't then he would go through his hoard and find more. These were Newt's puggles, and he would keep them safe.

He watched as Newt pulled out two blankets, laying them over the two small puggles. Each of the blankets was covered in shiny thread, showing different patterns. The niffler purred in approval, and then climbed up Credence's leg, purring louder as Credence began to pet him. Newt flashed him a smile, and walked over to the other box, with Credence’s puggle in. He put another shiny blanket on it, and the puggle made a funny noise that the niffler thought might be an attempt at a purr. He echoed the noise, trying to make it feel at home.


	3. Occamy

The small humans had been laid side by side in a special nest, each wrapped in the blankets that made the niffler happy. Charlotte stuck her head over the side of the nest to take a look. Small humans were very strange. Unlike her and her siblings, they didn't have sharp teeth, and someone had already stolen their shells. 

The one with dark hair had hatched first, and Charlotte felt that as the oldest occamy this meant that the dark haired small human was hers. She knew how lonely it could be when you waited for your siblings to hatch. But now all three of them were hatched and were together, and that was very good. 

They were still not very good at things though. They had hatched nearly a week ago and hadn't made any attempt to explore the house yet. They were too busy lying down and letting their parents look after them.

Christopher joined her, his mouth full of a cockroach, which he offered to one of the small humans in an attempt at friendship. Charlotte was happy that she had such considerate siblings. When it made no attempt to reach for it, he dropped down to the small humans. It landed on a redheaded baby and it started to sob. One of mummy's mates rushed in and picked up the baby, hugging it and bouncing, murmuring to it in the funny human voice that mummy used for small humans and other young creatures.

Then the mate noticed the cockroach, and picked it out from the small human box and shook his head.   
"No." He said firmly. "Babies don't eat cockroaches. Thank you, but no." He returned the cockroach to Christopher and walked away, carrying the sad small human.

The human he had taken away was from the middle of the box. That left the dark haired human that had hatched first and the other red haired human with a big gap between them. That wasn't any good at all.

Charlotte led Christopher back to the nest, gathering the others all up together. Kenneth was asleep, but a nip to the tail woke him up and soon all five of them were ready to go.

Charlotte was the best of all at getting big. She had got big when she was in the strange building, when she had escaped, while the others had stayed home and hidden with mummy. She had come back full of stories of what had happened while they were inside, telling them how Dougal had looked after her and how she had spent a whole day big enough to fill half of the case. So that made Charlotte the leader. 

She stretched so that she could rest her head on the edge of the nest, biting into the wood with her fangs so that the others could climb over her and into the small human box. Catherine climbed first, followed by Chloe and Christopher. Kenneth was last of all because he was always late. He was the last to hatch and he was late now. Once all four of her siblings were in the box, Charlotte grew a little longer and flicked herself into the box, shrinking down as she did so.

There were now five occamy and two small humans in the box, which meant it was nice and full and the babies wouldn't be lonely. Carefully, Charlotte got a little bigger, stretching out in the middle in a wavy pattern to fill in the missing gap. Her two brothers cuddled up on the dark haired human and her sisters curled up on the redheaded human. They stayed small for now, not wanting to squish the small humans. Humans couldn't get bigger, so you had to play gently with them. The occamy yawned and snuggled down before closing their eyes and falling asleep.

They woke up a little while later, when mummy was gently stroking each of them.  
"Hello Chloe, hello Charlotte, hello Christopher, hello Catherine, hello Kenneth. Are you looking after the babies for me? That's very good of you." Mummy's voice was gentle, and he carefully moved them to one side, encouraging Charlotte to shrink down so that the other baby could be placed in with them. "You are doing well, but I think Dougal's been looking for you..." Speaking softly, mummy picked up them each in turn and placed them carefully back in their nests.

Satisfied that she had helped, Charlotte curled up beside her siblings and stretched herself out on the grass which mummy had magically made warm.


	4. Dougal

Newt was curled up in bed, resting his head on Percival's chest, Credence on the other side. Percival was gently petting both of them, trying to reassure them. It had been a long day for all of them. Dougal wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he could tell that they needed to rest.

Dougal made his way to the kitchen, after giving the occamy several cockroaches. He took three apples, crunching one for himself and using a sharp knife to cut the remaining two into slices. He carried them over to the adult humans, distributing the slices equally between the three of them. He poked Percival gently until he ate, and then turned to the others. Credence crunched through the apple, and Newt brushed his fingers through Dougal's hair.

One of the baby humans was about to cry, and Dougal raced over. He picked it up before it started sobbing, rocking it in his arms. He looked down at it fondly. He wished it was more like a dysguise - a baby demiguise. Dysguise could cling onto their father's fur and he would be able to carry them around, ensuring that they were contented and not left behind. The human babies were far too weak to do that, but Dougal could tell that one day they would be like the adults were. They would be able to hold onto him.

Dougal was excited about the day when he would be able to carry the children on his back, but for now he was just holding them close. The baby he was holding had settled, so he carefully placed it back in the cot, and fetched a bottle of milk.

He picked up the oldest child, feeding her with the bottle of milk and bouncing her over his shoulder. It wasn't hard to look after these children - they were more similar to a dysguise than the occamy, and their parents didn't mind.

He watched over the babies, until he heard a soft sniffling sound from Credence. As carefully as he could, he carried the oldest over to him, placing her in his lap.  
"Thank you Dougal..." Credence whispered. Dougal smiled, reaching out with his tail to rock the cradle as he patted Newt's hair.

Nick the niffler stuck his head through the bars of the cot, chattering away to himself. Dougal carefully showed him the shiny blankets that the children always had in their nest. Nick examined it for a little while and then seemed satisfied, slipping away without trying to add any additional sparkle to the children's cot. 

Dougal was happy to show Nick the blanket as many times as was necessary if it meant that he wouldn't try and put anything he shouldn't in the bed with the children. Dougal saw himself as a guardian for Newt's young, helping both the children and the other creatures. Dougal knew they all wanted to help, and that he was honoured to be allowed to help as much as he was. There were three small children, and he could help with them and with the adults.

Soon all six of his humans were asleep, and Dougal felt a great sense of pride. He quietly made sure that the creatures were also all settled, then curled up by the side of the cot so that if anyone needed him during the night he would be there to look after them.

He woke to small hands grasping up towards his fur. He let his tail hang down into the crib, waving it above the baby's head. The baby made some happy noises.

Newt blinked awake, stretching and snuggling into Percival's shoulder. "Morning..."

Dougal ignored the standard noises of his humans taking care of each other and getting dressed. He smiled at Newt as Newt leaned in to check on the twins.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. It all really got a bit much, after... well, we won't go into what happened. The important thing is that we're all still here, and the babies are safe. You kept them comfortable?" Newt asked, reaching out to stroke his fingers through Dougal's fur. Dougal nodded quickly in agreement, and then moved out of the way, going to check on the Occamy. Charlotte had been being rather adventurous the last few days, and he didn't want any of his children thinking he cared about them any less now that the human babies were here.

He climbed into the nest with the five occamy, petting each of them in turn and clicking at them soothingly.


	5. The Nundu

The nundu had endured many indignities in its short life. It had been taken from its pride while still a cub, and the men who had taken it had cut deep into its throat, scarring over the glands that would produce poison. When the human who called himself 'mummy' (and called the nundu 'fluffy') had found it, it was nearly dead.

The man who called himself 'mummy' gave it food, bringing fresh meat still dripping with blood over to it for it to devour. It had grown strong. But the scars on its throat never healed, leaving it crippled. It wasn't tame. It was far from tame. But it respected the man who called himself 'mummy' and the kindness that he had shown. It would not harm him, or the other creatures that he took in, as long as it got regular food.

The man who called himself 'mummy' had taken a mate, and then two, forming a pride of his own. The nundu was glad for them, keeping its distance but watching as one of the mates and the man who called himself 'mummy' became heavy with cubs. The cubs were born and they were healthy, showing that health by calling out loudly at all hours of the day and night. The nundu watched.

The cubs made all kinds of smells and sounds, but they weren't toxic. The man who called himself 'mummy' and his mates took good care of the cubs, and they began to grow strong. The nundu watched, patrolling the case to ensure that no one invaded their territory or tried to hurt the cubs. While they were still small, they would be vulnerable to rival males who could kill them to get access to the fertile parents.

A couple of months had passed. The cubs were still small and helpless, showing no sign of running, but the man who called himself 'mummy' seemed relaxed. The nundu could easily have let its patrols stop, accepted that the case was a safe haven. But it hadn't.

That was to prove useful when it was discovered that the case was not the safe haven that they had believed. The man who called himself 'mummy' and the other mate who had born a cub were working in the study when the case opened. The nundu paced silently to where he could see the entrance, expecting the strongest mate to have returned.

Instead it was a human female who stood there, the fur on the top of her head streaked with white. She was raising her voice in a roar at the other mate, and the man who called himself 'mummy' was desperately trying to position himself between the woman and his mate and cubs. Her voice was getting louder.

The nundu saw her draw a stick, the kind of stick that the man who called himself ‘mummy’ used. That was a threatening gesture, and it couldn't allow its pride to be threatened. It jumped in front of the man who called himself 'mummy', neck inflated, teeth bared and snarled.

The human female was easy to chase away. It would have raced after her, but it didn't because it thought that its pride needed it close to keep guarding them. As long as the older woman didn't hurt its pride it wasn't too concerned with what she did. She clambered up the ladder as the man who called himself 'mummy' stroked gentle fingers over its fur, tracing the dark markings across his skin.

The man who called himself 'mummy' is talking now. It doesn't understand much, but it picks out the word 'good' and the word 'fluffy'. It has protected its pride and chased away the threat, and it preens at the praise.

That night, and every night it can afterwards, it sleeps beside the cubs' resting place. If any attacker comes to harm them, they will have to get through the nundu. The nundu doesn't think they'll manage that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The woman that Fluffy encounters is Mrs. Graves, as depicted earlier in this series: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10312016/chapters/22799954)


	6. Everyone

Mummy picked her up, cuddling her against his chest and talking softly. She sniffled a little, feeling grouchy. She was tired but she didn't want to sleep, not with Papa out at work and Daddy busy sorting out food for the grown ups. She liked it when the grownups all cuddled to her, and sometimes Daddy would sing a lullaby.

Mummy pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
"Shush..." He bounced her gently. "You'll wake the twins..." He cuddled her close, his voice little more than a whisper. "Do you want to go and see everyone?" He asked her. She didn't understand what he was talking about, but she liked spending time with mummy so she gurgled up at him. Mummy didn't sing lullabies like daddy, but he talked a lot.

Sometimes he would look at the paper with little pictures on, and tell her about the creatures. Mostly though, he would walk around with her and show her to all of the creatures. She liked that. They were her family, and she liked seeing them all.

There was a pretty pink bird that was sat on a stick, mouth open but no audible noise coming from it.  
"Wave hello to Dolly! Dolly is a fwooper, yes she is..." Mummy murmured, bouncing her and cuddling her close. 

"Now, you can't go and see the Graphorns yet. And I know Fluffy is the best at guarding you, but Papa doesn't think that you should play with a nundu yet. You might get hurt, but it wouldn't be deliberate. Very few creatures try and hurt people. Really, it's only humans, and I can't keep you safe from those..." Mummy swallowed a little. "I know I can't..." He paused, and cuddled her a little tighter.

An apple floated over, and Mummy took it with a smile.  
"Thank you Dougal!" He smiled, taking the apple and peeling back some of the skin. He took a small bite of the apple, chewing it up and then spitting it out onto his hand, bringing the food to her mouth and letting her eat a little. He grinned proudly, eating the rest of the fruit.  
"You like apple huh?" He asked with a smile. "Yeah, Dougal likes them too. He's a demiguise, and that's why he turns invisible. He's good at looking after you. He looks after all of us. Now, if we can't play with nundu, then we can play with the mooncalves..." 

Mummy walked over to where a lot of the funny tall things were standing, and tossed a handful of food through the air to them. He pointed at each of them in turn, teaching her about all of them.  
"That's Oscar, he's very bouncy, Gwendoline lost her leg to an infection last year, Cecily is due to have a calf in the next few months..."

Mummy's voice was nice and gentle and it made her feel warm. Her blanket was tucked around her. It had sparkly things on which were pretty. Mummy snuggled her again, and carried her towards where there was far more shining.

She was held out towards the niffler, who looked her up and down and then squeaked in approval. Then Mummy carried her to the occamy, and placed her gently down in their nest. She giggled as they all wrapped around her, very gentle. They were pretty colours and they were warm, and Mummy was nearby. Their scales felt funny beneath her fingers. After a few minutes mummy gently moved the occamy away, cuddling her and carrying her back to where the twins were sleeping. 

He sat down in the rocking chair beside the cots, and settled her in his arms. His own eyes were closing, and she snuggled into the warmth of his skin, feeling safe there. The funny little twig that was always with Mummy peeked from his pocket, looking down at her curiously. Mummy rocked her gently, and she let herself sleep. She was in the case, and everything here was her family. She was happy, and everything was peaceful.

Her dreams were full of Mummy's creatures, their soft fur and shiny scales. The chair was moving as her and mummy slept, Dougal rocking it gently and helping soothe them into rest. Her tummy was full and she knew that she would see Daddy and Papa soon. Mummy was here and she could feel his heartbeat through his thin shirt. She was safe and warm and everything was comfortable.

She was woken when one of the twins started to cry.


End file.
